CFP: [Travel] CFP

Papers are invited for a seminar on Traveling from the Real/Virtual to the Virtual/Real and Backat the Annual ACLA Conference â€¨March 26-29, 2009 â€¨Harvard University.

A traveler to Las Vegas today might go precisely because the city offers the possibility ofâ€œvisitingâ€ Mandalay, Egypt, New York City, Paris, Venice and other locations well beyond the stateof Nevada. A traveler to Paris in 1867 might have gone to the French capital precisely becausesuch a visit would have made it possible to attend the great Universal Exposition, which wouldhave offered the possibility of â€œvisitingâ€ world locations beyond the limits of Paris. Political,promotional and experiential delight in confusing the real and the virtual is evident in this quotefrom the period: â€œItaly, Spain, Denmark, and Russia will be incorporated by degree into theParisian municipality. Three days later, the cityâ€™s limits will be pushed back all the way to NewZealand . . . Paris will be the world, and the universe will be Paris.â€

This seminar will approach the conference theme of global languages and local cultures in termsof travel and tourism as expressed in literature, the visual arts and promotional materials from1850 through 2008. Travel should be addressed through discussions focusing on thejuxtaposition, superimposition or blending of such categories as virtual and real; past andpresent; or distant and near.

Please follow the instructions at http://www.acla.org/annualmeetingguidelines.html. Abstractsshould be no longer than 300 words and should designate the seminar and the seminarorganizer, Prof. Edward A. Aiken, Director, Graduate Program in Museum Studies, SyracuseUniversity.